"We come here to remember those who were killed, those who survived and those changed forever. May all who leave here know the impact of violence. May this memorial offer comfort, strength, peace, hope and serenity."

On Wednesday we went to the Oklahoma City National Memorial and Museum located in downtown Oklahoma City.

On the morning of April 19, 1995, Timothy McVeigh parked a rental truck with explosives in front of the complex and, at 9:02am, a massive explosion occurred which sheared the entire north side of the building, killing 168 people.

More than 637 names are listed on the Survivors' Wall on the Outdoor Symbolic Memorial. The granite panels on which the Survivors' names are etched were salvaged from the Murrah Building and are mounted on the only surviving wall of the Murrah Building.

Visiting this museum and memorial was a very sobering experience and the grounds of the memorial provide peace and comfort. I was only 11 years old when this act of violence occured and I do not remember a lot of details so it was very interesting and touching to visit this site. Mike and I enjoyed walking through the museum and learning of this historical event.

The museum is mapped out in a time line starting at 8:00am April 19, 1995 which started out as an average spring day in Oklahoma City...then you procede to go through the days awful events. At 9:01 am they have you step into a court room where there was an actual case taking place that morning...and everything was caught on tape...so while you are listening to this actual tape from April 19, 1995 the lights begin to flicker and it the room goes dark and all of a sudden you hear banging and crashing and pure chaos!!! It made the whole thing seem very real and unnerving! You continue through the museum to see the devistating effects of this event, you get to read survivors stories, and learn about the victims who lost their lives that day. It was a very neat experience!

The memorial grounds are beautiful and peaceful. There are still some remnants of the original Murrah building which they have made into a surviors wall. There is a tree located on these grounds that is over 90 years old and survived the effects of the bombing, this is a symbol of hope and human resilience. The message near the tree reads, "The spirit of this city and this nation will not be defeated; our deeply rooted faith sustains us."

The first Fence was installed to protect the site of the Murrah Building. Almost immediately, people began to leave tokens of love and hope on the Fence. Those items now total more than 60,000 and are collected and preserved in our archives. Today, more than 200 feet of the original Fence gives people the opportunity to leave tokens of remembrance and hope.

The Field of Empty Chairs is the 168 chairs that represent the lives taken on April 19, 1995. They stand in nine rows to represent each floor of the building, and each chair bears the name of someone killed on that floor. Nineteen smaller chairs stand for the children.

The Gate of Time are twin gates frame the moment of destruction – 9:02 a.m. – and mark the formal entrances to the Memorial. The East Gate represents 9:01 a.m. on April 19, and the innocence of the city before the attack. The West Gate represents 9:03 a.m., the moment we were changed forever, and the hope that came from the horror in the moments and days following the bombing.

There is also an amazing reflecting pool which is a shallow depth of gently flowing water that helps soothe wounds, with calming sounds providing a peaceful setting for quiet thoughts.

As you can see this memorial is beautiful, educational and peaceful. We enjoyed our visit very much and hope you learned a thing or two from reading this blog. Enjoy the pictures we took of the memorial, it was a beautiful spring day in Oklahoma!!!